Irish Constitution Archives | Teach Dont Preach

September 1, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Schools are obliged to use existing funding to supervise students

Publicly funded schools are obliged to use their existing funding to supervise students outside the religious instruction class. The recent Legal Opinion that Atheist Ireland obtained confirms that schools cannot refuse to supervise children outside the religious instruction class on the basis that they do not get enough funding from ...

July 22, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

The WRC report on the ‘Homework passes for Masses’ discrimination case

The Workplace Relations Commission has published the recent case that found Yellow Furze National School in Meath had discriminated on religious grounds against a family. You can find the case here The school is under Catholic patronage, and it gave homework passes to children who attended Catholic religious services. But ...

July 18, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Catholic education undermines the Constitutional rights of parents

Catholic education undermines the Constitutional rights of parents to respect for their philosophical convictions. The vast majority of schools in Ireland have a Catholic ethos. This includes ETB schools. The Irish Constitution (Article 42.1) recognises the inalienable right of parents to respect for their convictions. Regardless of this right, minority ...

January 30, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Schools admission policies must respect the right to opt out of religion classes

Atheist Ireland has sent the letter below to the Department of Education. It is about how recently revised Guidelines, issued by the Catholic Church, are undermining the right to not attend religious teaching in Irish schools. Please read the letter below, then ask your General Election candidates the following question, ...

December 11, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Catholic school guidelines on inclusion deny the rights of secularists

The Joint Managerial Body (JMB) for second level Religious schools has issued revised Guidelines for the ‘Inclusion of Other Beliefs in Catholic Secondary Schools’. These revised Guidelines undermine the rights of minorities. They are based on fear and control dressed up in the language of inclusion. The Catholic Church is ...

December 2, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Time to rebalance Constitutional rights to protect religious minorities in Irish schools

In Ireland children have a Constitutional Right to not attend any religious teaching or activities. The Constitution obliges the State to respect the inalienable right of parents to ensure that the teaching of their children is in conformity with their convictions. The Constitution also guarantees that all citizens are equal ...

November 24, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Religion should not, and can not, be made compulsory in Irish schools

Michael Nugent was on Newstalk Radio this week, debating whether religion should be made compulsory in Irish schools. Alan Whelan of the Catholic Secondary Schools Parents Partnership argued that it should be. Religion should not be compulsory in Irish schools, because it would be a bad idea, and it can ...

October 8, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

State pays €9.8m a year for chaplains in State ETB schools

According to a recent Parliamentary response to a question by Ruth Coppinger, there are 156 Chaplains working in ETB schools, at a cost of €9.8 million to the State. Over half of second level schools are denominational, and most of the rest are defined as multi-denominational State schools with the ...

October 7, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Campaign to Separate Church and State v Minister for Education 1995

The Campaign to Separate Church and State case in 1995 is one of the main cases that dealt with religion in Irish schools. The case went to the High Court first and then went on to the Supreme Court. The judgements from the High Court and Supreme Courts are below ...

September 18, 2019 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Catholic school backs homework pass for attending a religious event

A recent Article in the Irish Times “Catholic school backs homework pass for attending a religious event” highlights the discrimination that minorities face in the vast majority of schools in Ireland. Children that go to mass or choir practice outside school hours are given a reward for attending. The reward ...